Glorybound
by OmicronOfTheLight
Summary: In the aftermath of the Didact's attack on Earth, the UNSC Glorybound, sister-ship to the UNSC Infinity, has been tasked with finding more intelligent life in the galaxy. When they come across a system teeming with intelligent life, it may be up to one Spartan to break the cycle of war within it.
1. Chapter 1

The calm and deceivingly peaceful void of space rippled, distorted as though it were water. Suddenly, six large and gaping holes of swirling purple and azure shuddered into existence, their abrupt appearance accompanied by no sound. Sluggishly, six long, rectangular ships were birthed from the vortexes, and once their steel-hued hulls were free the portals slammed shut behind them. A few moments later, the escort was accompanied by the arrival of one massive rupture, a vessel of monstrous proportions escaping its depths. Once the dreadnought of gun-metal grey was clear of the portal, it slowly collapsed behind it. The six smaller ships quickly took up the flanks of their flagship, and as one they began to slowly advance towards a large system of planets in the distance.

The behemoth of a ship within the center of the fleet was a sight to behold. Five point seven kilometers of thick titanium-A3 plating surrounded by a barrier of reverse-engineered Forerunner shielding, it was an _Infinity_-class warship, the second of its kind, with a name to follow suit: UNSC _Glorybound_. Inside the capital ship's bridge, Admiral Maximus Finch stood next a holographic projector, his arms folded. He was a short man, stocky and in his late fifties, his receding black hairline peppered with signs of grey and age. His facial hair had been trimmed down to an orderly mustache. He wore a rather non-ceremonial grayish-green navy uniform, the insignia of the UNSC stamped over his left breast. His service pistol was holstered upon his right hip, and upon his head he donned a simple military cap.

Finch would have been studying a data pad clutched in his right hand, multiple reports streaming in from the _Strident_-class Heavy Frigates which surrounded the _Glorybound_. There was a brief flash of red to his left, and he peered his copper-hued eyes over to the projector. Standing where there had once been nothing, the flickering visage of a Roman Legionnaire held firm, arms folded behind his back, a _gladius _short-sword sheathed upon his side. His form would be comprised of multiple layers of flowing crimson, with the detailed trim of the armor seeming to pulse brightly with the passing of the moment. "Nero," Finch inquired, "What is the fleet's status at the moment?"

The A.I. paused for a moment, before listing off in his ever-stern voice, "Reports of isolated injuries amongst the crew have come from the _Judgment _and _Flawless_. A Pelican dropship derailed in the _Forefront_'s third deployment bay, and is being looked at by the crew. Repairs to the damaged equipment shall be completed shortly. Everyone else is in tip-top shape, save the _Stormfall_." Finch gave out an annoyed sigh.

"Again? Don't tell me it's the-"MAC Cannon, yes. It's come loose on multiple sections, and cannot be fired without a seventy-five percent chance of severe damage being dealt to the ship." Finch nodded, muttering to himself, "That's the third jump in a row. I swear, it's like that ship is cursed…" He returned his eyes to the data pad, all the while saying to Nero, "Bring up a diagnostic of the ship. I want to make sure everything is in peak condition." Nero nodded, before flashing off of the projector, reappearing on a holo-table nearby. As Finch walked near the device, a full image of the _Glorybound_ assembled, showing the massive length of the starship.

Much like the eldest craft of the two ships, the _Infinity_, the _Glorybound_ shared the title of being one of the largest and deadliest of the UNSC's vessels. It was currently a peacetime vessel, used for exploration and expeditionary assignments and missions. However, unlike the _Infinity_, whose main goal was the discovery and subsequent retirement of Forerunner installations, the _Glorybound_'s current mission was the discovery of new races, mainly those that comprised the little-understood Covenant Fringe. The Fringe was a section of the Covenant that had remained largely hidden during the Great War, but as of 2558, negotiations with the Sangheili and various individuals of the now-shattered hegemony have begun to reveal details of the Fringe. It was comprised of an untold amount of races, many of whom that were accepted into the Covenant, but kept out of combat due to a lack of numbers.

The _Glorybound _had kept the same design as its sister craft, but had many things changed about the cargo it carried. Over eighteen-thousand souls manned the _Glorybound_, with a large focus on marines and ODSTS. Forty Spartan-IVs were stationed upon the starship, divided into eight five-personnel fireteams. A large-scale simulation deck, similar to the program dubbed WAR GAMES on board the _Infinity, _was present but suffered from numerous drawbacks, such as a smaller design to compensate for the _Glorybound's _increased amount of cargo. This simulation was made available to the regular military personnel upon the ship, who spent a large amount of time training with their squads in it, provided that the Spartans didn't lay a claim on it at the time.

Prior to the mission's launch months ago, hundreds of deep-space probes were launched into the stars, given slipspace jumps to a plethora of randomized vectors. The _Glorybound _tracked these probes, which set out a distress signal should it begin to detect signs of spacecraft in the area, Covenant, Insurrection, or otherwise. During the long journey, only a handful of probes had actually activated, with a majority of them leading to the discovery of a Remnant Fleet. On two separate occasions had they discovered a member of the Fringe, and even then, they were incredibly hostile towards all attempts of contact. This time, however, something was different. On every occasion, the probe in question was ignored, seen by the detected party as a hunk of scrap floating through space. They saw no value in it, despite the fact it was still transmitting, and simply let it be. Every once in a while, a slipspace jump in close proximity of a probe would fry it, but not on this occasion.

The probe in this system had been deliberately fired upon and destroyed. Video feed of the device's last moments showed the faint outline of a bulbous, ungainly-looking fighter speeding towards it, followed by the discharge of a bright pulse weapon. Whatever was in this system, it did not take kindly to intruders. This had invoked the curiosity of Admiral Finch greatly, and he automatically set his sights for the unknown plot of space, guided only by the old coordinates of the probe.

Finch nodded, waving a dismissive hand at Nero, who promptly closed the hologram. Maximus turned on heel, bringing his gaze to the bridge's view. In the distance, he could clearly see a planet; its surface riddled with faint splashes of blue and vibrant green. He called out to one of his officers, "Boggs begin to quicken our pace. Alert the fleet of our destination." Boggs, a tall, thin man with dark skin, raised a brow at the admiral. "Where exactly is that, sir?" Finch responded by bluntly raising his hand, pointer extended towards the earth-like sphere upon the horizon. "There."

They had reached the planet's proximity within the hour; Initial scans showed that it was covered in dense, hilly jungles and ravines. It was abundantly clear that it was a life-supporting planet, and just as well could more than likely support human life. Finch leaned forward, eyes narrow with curiosity, and at the same time, worry. Though the _Glorybound _could easily punch through a Covenant fleet on its own, he had no idea what he was up against. He muttered a small prayer to himself, before glancing over to Nero. The A.I. shared his look of interest, before turning to face the admiral. "Sir, I'm picking up multiple transmissions from the Planet's surface. For a foreign race, their language is extraordinarily similar to English. They are aware of our presence, though it appears that we've brought a stand-still to some sort of engagement going on in-atmosphere."

"Any signs of ships being scrambled at us?" Finch said, his posture straightening. Nero shook his head, "Negative. It appears as though they are waiting for our move. Which makes me ask…What is our course of action, sir?"

Admiral Finch was silent for a long time, seeming to weigh his options. They had certainly discovered alien life, and as it was, they were showing signs that they were not part of the Fringe. He needed to know what he was up against; He needed to make contact, somehow. But it was clear that peace wasn't on the table, yet. He nodded, mumbling to himself, before turning to Nero.

"Have Fireteam Harbinger report to the armor bay. We're sending them in."

Deck VI, which held both the armor bay for the Spartans and the vessel's munition storage was already filled with curious eyes. The deployment of Harbinger always attracted the attention of the ship's personnel, even amongst the Helljumpers and S-IVs. The reason being was that Fireteam Harbinger was unique amongst its peers, a collection of veterans whom had both survived both the Insurrection and the Great War. It had been assembled for the purpose of potentially hostile first contact with the various Fringe species they could potentially come across. The members themselves were brought into questioning from the officers aboard the _Glorybound_, due to the nature of their pasts and for one of them, the soldier himself, but this was eventually ignored in favor of the success they had shown during past engagements, more-so as individuals than as a team.

The first, and perhaps the most mundane member of Harbinger, was Major Mark Ellison, an ODST. He held the appearance of a tall yet lithe man, being of African American descent, his skin a shade of dark brown. He was always noted amongst the Helljumpers for being an intelligent and decisive, if cold and strict, soldier. His mix of tactical knowledge and perhaps even pure instinct had saved the lives of his men before, though this came at the cost of his extreme irritability and arrogance. Both of these bitter traits had culminated in three acts of insubordination on Ellison's part, which lead to a series of demotions, putting him back in the rank he currently held. He preferred to stick with the M392 DMR and MGC/SOCOM Handgun, proving to be a mid-to-long range combatant. His armor had little variation from the standard ODST garb, with the exception of a large gouge in the right shoulder plate, provided to him by a glancing blow from a Spiker's duel bayonets.

The second member of Harbinger was Captain James Kaufman. Compared to Ellison, James kept the ODST's imposing height, but was much more built, his muscles etched into his tanned skin like marble statue. One thing he did not share with Ellison, however, his European descent included, was his military career. Kaufman was a surviving member of the original ORION project; a Spartan I. Kaufman was impressive compared to the standard soldier, but like everyone else amongst the hidden program, their augmentations fell well below the standards the scientists had been hoping before. Kaufman had been reassigned to colony of Eridanus II, with the task of training the colonial militia in case of an insurgency forming upon the planet. He was displayed to have shown proficient skill with the SRS 99 Anti-Material Rifle during the Battle of Eridanus II, with a Sangheili zealot being amongst his kill count. He managed to make it off-world before the Covenant gained victory, and the subsequent glassing that followed. To this day, he still attacks from long range, acting as Harbinger's sniper. He has since upgraded from the Series 2 rifle to the Series 5, which saw action during the First and Second Battles of Requiem.

The two newest members of Harbinger were Spartans Demeter and Vali Akos. They were twins, born upon the planet Reach in one of the numerous off-the-grid and self-sustaining _kivas_. They were of Hungarian descent, as were many of the planet's settlers, and it showed in a strong accent, one which was more apparent in Demeter than his sister. They were both extremely pale compared to most aboard the _Glorybound_, and they both shared an auburn shade of hair which had existed in thick mops upon their heads, before being cut away after joining the military. The twins showed a remarkable talent with explosives, and could almost sense when the other was in trouble. This trait was described as an odd feeling which wormed itself into their stomachs, and was almost always right. Their expertise in demolitions gained them numerous medals throughout the duration of the war, but through a twist of fate, was shipped off to Mars weeks before the Fall of Reach, sparing them the fate of their homeworld. The twins saw combat during the First and Second Battles of New Mombasa, during which Vali received discharge from a Brute-variant Plasma-Rifle directly to the face, scarring it severely and blinding her left eye. During the peace between the end of the war and the discovery of Requiem, Demeter and Vali were selected to become part of the Spartan IV program, though Vali was nearly turned down due to her blindness. They both wore the standard S-IV armor, a main tone of ebony with a detailing of gold, the visor a shade of dark blue. While they both carried MA5D's, Vali brought a handheld Railgun to play, whereas Demeter brought a M319 Grenade Launcher, despite its very old model.

The finale, and perhaps most notorious member of Harbinger, was Marius-050. Marius was born on Reach, a solitary feature he shared with the twins, and lived within the city of Quezon. He was extremely large, dwarfing everyone else aboard the _Glorybound _at a solid seven feet and four inches when out of armor. It was a rare sight to catch him out of armor, and even less-so to see him out of the MJOLNIR undersuit. Whenever somebody could see his features, it was usually of his face, which was broad and weathered, his black hair buzzed and his beard trimmed down to rough stubble. Compared to other Spartan-IIs which were still alive by this point, Marius was noticeably younger than his surviving brothers and sisters. Though Marius had been biologically alive for forty-seven years, he was only the age of thirty-three. During the Battle of Miridem, Spartans Marius and Sheila were assigned to protect Dr. Halsey while she was being evacuated off-world. Sheila was killed by a Sangheili Major later identified as Thel 'Lodamee, who then abducted Halsey. Marius was severely injured in the confrontation, though 'Lodamee's concentration upon the mission provided a window of escape. Marius managed to get his way off-world and provide the information to the UNSC, before subsequently falling into a critical condition due to his wounds. Medical personnel stabilized him, and put him in cryo-sleep, where he was kept safe in one of the multiple ONI bases on Earth. He was awoken in the year 2553, one year after the war ended, and was healed completely. He was immediately contacted by the officials of the Spartan-IV program to help train and assist the future generations of super soldiers, a roll which Marius eagerly took. He was assigned to the _Glorybound_, and had begun to take a more combat oriented role within the program months into their mission. The imposing man was described as being surprisingly caring for a Spartan, but could be quite gruff and blunt, prone to openly stating his mind.

Marius sighed with relief as the MJOLNIR cradle-system did it's work, fastening on the Spartan's power armor in under half the time it took an entire technical team to apply it. Truth be told, the Spartan had felt odd whenever he was without the armor. It had become like a second layer of skin, the neural connection between the suit and its user flawless. His eyes light up as at long last, his helmet was slowly lowered over his face, the HUD coming to life seconds later. The sage-colored giant stepped down from the armor rig, his boots clunking against the metal floor of the bay loudly. Even with newer and improved versions of MJOLNIR available, he stuck with the Mark VI, it's once bright olive paint having dulled and darkened after years of nonstop warfare. His orangish-golden visor reflected the staring faces of other Spartans within the bay, many of which he had helped train himself. Most of them gave a nod of respect, though there was the occasional salute mixed in. Even to them, an S-II was a living legend.

Marius collected his usual weaponry; an MA5D secured unto his back and an M6H handgun upon his right hip, with two frags on his left. All three of which were held firmly in place by the armor's magnetic locks. With everything set, he headed to the _Glorybound_'s bridge for debriefing. Due to the ship's great length, this took a great deal of minutes, a tram system carrying him to his selected destination. As his ride quickly flew by, he pondered how this mission would. He pondered how every one of his missions would go; it was a habit he had carried with him all the way through training and beyond. His thoughts were rudely interrupted by the tram coming to a screeching halt, and the doors orderly sliding open. Resigning his thoughts to his worn-out memory, he slowly walked down the neatly-kept corridors of the ship, which eventually lead to the entrance of the bridge. The two marines stationed outside gave him a crisp salute, which to their surprised he returned, before the door unlatched, slid open, and gave the Spartan entry.

Finch, Ellison, Kaufman and the twins were bent over a display, a hologram of the planet slowly rotating before them. Nero would have been pointing out something about the planet's surface to them, his red arm aimed for one of the larger landmasses, before he quickly halted upon seeing the S-II. The group of five, six if the AI was included, all looked up at Marius as he stepped forward, raising a salute to the Admiral. Before the super soldier could even begin to say _sir_, Finch waved him over with an impatient "At ease". Marius complied, shrugging, taking his place between Kaufman and Demeter, the former of the two knocking on his green shoulder. "Took you long enough." He said with a grin, a grunt being the S-II's response.

Finch raised his head at the assembled team, taking a deep breath before he began. "I am afraid to tell you that we are in the dark right now, gentlemen. Whatever is down there is blocking our comms, making any form of audial contact impossible. It's safe to assume that once you're in-atmosphere, you will lose contact with the _Glorybound_. Nero has managed to trace the main source of the jamming to a dense part of the rain forest, as seen here." He paused, gesturing to the red AI, who in turn expanded the planet's image, centering on a landmass in the middle of the planet. It continued to center itself until it came upon an area similar to a large valley, with small clearings mixed in between the foliage. "I'm not willing to send anymore boots on the ground until I either know what I'm dealing with, or I have no other choice. You will be deploying in two pelican dropships: Ellison, Kaufman and Spartan Vali shall be in the first, followed up by Spartans Marius and Demeter in the second. Once on the ground, the dropships will retreat to a pre-determined LZ, which has already been notified upon your HUDs. Find the source of this frequency, and whatever the hell is causing it, and take it out. Avoid casualties _if possible_. You have a timeframe of forty-eight hours once contact is lost with the _Glorybound_. If we're still without comms by the end of this period, we will be entering the planet by force. Make this quick, and all of you make it back safe. Any questions?" The resulting silence was their answer.

Finch nodded, "Very well. Your dropships depart in fifteen minutes. Good luck, and godspeed. **Dismissed!**"

The pelican shook as it plummeted through the atmosphere of the newly-discovered world, rattling the two half-ton passengers in the troop bay. Demeter sat at attention, his position stiff and worried, his assault rifle clutched tightly in his hands. Even after becoming a Spartan, the twin always had a fear of aircraft, especially during atmospheric entry. The senior super soldier, whom had sat on the opposite section of the ship's seating, seemed far more relaxed, his visor tilted down, staring at the dropship's rough floor. Demeter sighed as the ship's nerve-racking jostling finally came to a halt; in his mind, the bad part was finally over. He glanced over to Marius, and within his helmet, a brow raised. He had only been on a few missions with the S-II, yet he never could wrap his head around how easily he accepted it all. How, after a life of non-stop violence, against both Humans and The Covenant, that he kept so firm in his resolve.

He spoke up, his accent betraying his origin once again, "So, what do you think we'll find down there?"

Marius gave a shrug in reply, his brass voice showing just how calm he really was. "Don't know, and can't say I don't care. Either we're Demons to them, or less likely, Aliens. Whichever is the worse of the two, I have yet to find out." Demeter gave a chuckle, before he was silence by a sudden discharge of static.

The pelican's pilot, a man of seemingly Spanish descent, swore vividly at this. "Fuck, there goes communications. Everything's gone; Got no chatter from command or any of the Frigates. Even my instruments are screwed up. Going almost off of sight alone right now."

Demeter shivered at the finale sentence, before both he and Marius brought their attention to something else; The Pelican's bay door was opening. Slowly, the hatch descended, revealing a bright, thick jungle quickly passing below them. The rainforest-like biosphere was teeming with wildlife, as the roar of the dropship's engines caused numerous birds and other flying creatures to stir below them. "We'll be at the LZ in ten." Their pilot called out to them, before irritably muttering something they couldn't understand.

That's when Marius heard it; the faint sound of machinery slowly activing in the distance. He almost wanted to label it as the pelican, but it sounded too foreign. It reminded him of Covenant plasma-weaponry charging up, but compared to it, this new source sounded much more refined. Before the Spartan could say anything, a sound like thunder boomed in the horizon, and something slammed into the Pelican's left-rear thruster. The dropship began to spin out of control, plummeting to the forest canopy below, the scream of the now-mangled engines having reached an ear-shattering height. On instinct, Marius locked his armor, unable to move himself anymore as he was hurled out of the dropship, and into the jungle.

Marius slowly awoke to multiple sights which he did not favor. Out of habit, he initially reached for his magnum, only for his HUD to read that both of his weapons had been ripped off his armor during the crash. Growling in frustration, he slowly forced himself up, his boots making clear indentions on the damp ground beneath him. He turned on heel, his visor casting of a reflection of the grim sight before him. The pilot had managed to find one of the clearings within the jungle to attempt to land in, but had been mostly unsuccessful in his endeavor. Multiple large shards and pieces of steel from the hull of the dropship were strewn throughout the crash site, with fuel leaking from one of the damaged engines.

Marius glanced up to the bottom left of his HUD, near his motion detector. There had been only one tag assigned, which had simply been "**Spartan DMTR**". On all other occasions, a small blip beside the name had flashed green, showing the squad member was alive and operational. Now, it shined a dark and somber crimson. Marius frowned, knowing what this meant. He looked about the area slowly, before finally stumbling upon the now lifeless body of the male twin. Demeter had lost concentration during the crash, and as such, forgot to lock his armor. He had been hurled out of the dropship, much like Marius, though his shields broke his fall. It wasn't the fall which killed him, however; a long, jagged piece of metal from the ship had impaled him, directly in the chest. Such damage couldn't even be resisted by the armor's biofoam injectors; The native of Reach was dead.

Marius new the right thing to do would be to at least try and bury him, possibly even do the same for the pilot, whom he suspected had not survived either. However, something caught his attention on his HUD.

Blips of red had appeared upon his motion tracker, twenty-five meters in the foliage behind him, and they were closing in on him.


	2. Chapter 2

Marius grimaced as he counted the markers upon his radar. So far, he counted six, and it was slowly gaining. By this point, he could hear the sounds of boots trampling through underbrush and debris, some idle chatter in the mix that was silenced by the loud growl of a command. The Spartan looked to his right, spotting a large piece of the dropship lodged into the ground; it would have to do for cover. He dashed for the greenish-grey debris, making very little noise in the movement. Marius quickly gathered his situation once more: The total number of contacts had reached ten all together, and had stopped. They were spread out throughout the clearing, with four clustered around the wreckage of the pelican. The remaining six were haphazardly searching amongst the site, with two of them uncomfortably close to the Spartan's current position.

Slowly, Marius peeked his visor around the edge of the steel scrap, the rest of his massive sage-green form concealed. What he saw was almost expected, but slowly came to confuse him. The ten individuals were an assortment of bipedal reptiles and apes, all of which were armored in a mesh of slapdash gear, looking like it had seen more than its fair share of battles and was in desperate need of repairs. They were far shorter than most of the Covenant races, averaging out at around four to five feet in height, with an array of slim and scrawny to bulky and thick in terms of build. They all held oddly-shaped weapons, ones which Marius could not definitely label as similar to Covenant or Human in design. At the head of the group, a large ape with a shaggy coat of hair was inspecting the cockpit, one palm upon the shattered glass and the other tightly gripping a blaster. He stood a foot amongst the others, and his brutish appearance almost let the Spartan identify him as a Jiralhanae. Almost.

"Apes and Gators." Marius smarmed under his breath, allowing himself a light chuckle to the remark, "It's the Covies all over again." He returned his head safely behind the cover of the debris, his curiosity having been slated for the time being. He glanced about his hiding spot, and identified something that he had ignored in his haste; an MA5D half buried in the dirt, still intact after the crash. Marius slowly retrieved the weapon, careful not to make too much noise, brushing off the layer of grime that had placed itself upon the weapon. The sensors in the MJOLNIR's gloves soon displayed a small image of the weapon on the Spartan's HUD, with a count of ammo right below it; A full clip of thirty-two rounds was still inside the rifle, and to Marius' surprise, he still had a spare upon his person, one which had managed to cling to its lock during the crash. The Spartan grinned too himself as he held the familiar weapon once more, and slowly, he tilted his visor around the rubble once more…

This time, however, he received a response. There was a sharp outcry of "_What the hell?!_" followed by a bolt of energy slamming towards him. The Spartan's amazing reflexes saved him from the blast as he ducked by the scrap, the blaster-round hitting a nearby tree, scorching the bark with an audible sizzle. The entire area was alive with chatter, chatter which Marius noted was strikingly similar to the language used universally throughout the colonies as a common tongue, and the blips on his radar had since frozen in their movements. From what he had observed, two of the creatures, both of them spindly looking apes, had broken away from the crashed dropship and had since begun to inspect Demeter's broken body. The rest were in their former positions, albeit more tightly knit than before. Now, they were slowly advancing on him, getting closer by the second. Marius closed his eyes, inhaling deeply, before reaching up and bounding over his cover.

The moment he touched ground on the other side, the muzzle of his rifle shot up, his visor highlighting a bright red reticle over the target in front of him, a lizard holding a cumbersome-looking blaster. They were stunned by the sage behemoth's sudden appearance, and before they could regain their composition, Marius pulled the trigger. The rifle barked out its rage as 7.62 NATO round after round slammed into the contact before him, prompting a choked outcry and the spray of crimson blood. Marius took note of the fact that they had no shields, before sprinting quickly to the left as a volley of blaster-fire was sent his way. He turned on heel, now firing in short, controlled bursts; the first three pulls of the trigger sent forth a triple-round blast into four different targets, before the rifle clicked dryly. Marius grunted, his visor flashing that he needed to reload his weapon. The Spartan backpedalled to the cover of a thick tree in a few quick steps, blaster-rounds firing into the foliage around him. As he prepared the second clip for the assault rifle, he noticed that one of the creatures was charging him on his radar.

The apparent leader of the group, the massive ape from earlier, rounded about the tree with a roar, slamming his fist forward and knocking the MA5D out of the Spartan's hands. Marius responded with baffling speed, ducking low to the ground as the ape whirled his blaster towards his helmet, and launching his armored fist up in a thunderous uppercut. The blow connected to the gorilla-soldier's head, his spine snapping with a sickening crack from the force of the strike. His body, now limp and lifeless, crashed to the ground, flattening a bush underneath his bulk. Marius glanced at the ape's blaster, and shrugged, picking it up. The sensors in his gloves paused for a moment, confused as to what they were holding, before displaying a rough schematic of the weapon on his HUD. It was a semi-automatic weapon, with six blasts left in its current charge. More than enough. Marius whirled around his cover, his visor locking onto one of the four remaining contacts, and he pulled the trigger.

A bolt of energy that he could easily say was more refined than the Covenant's plasma tech roared forth from the blaster, hitting directly on mark, burning through a simian's armor and flesh. The Spartan didn't waste time, repeating the process in quick succession with two others, before finally reaching his last opponent, a tall and lithe lizard with bright green scales. This time, his foe was quicker to the trigger, and a blaster round slammed into the Spartan, his shields flickering brightly. Marius' eyes widened as he saw the round had taken a considerable chunk out of his energy shields; he would have to be more cautious from here on out, against these new foes. Falling prey to distraction, the lizard took this opportunity to turn tail and run, disappearing into the dense jungle, two rounds from Marius's blaster close behind him.

Marius swore, cursing himself; Spartans weren't supposed to be distracted. Spartans _couldn't _be distracted. Yet he had been. Staring in the direction of where his foe had run, he held his gaze for a few moments before placing the blaster upon his back, the weapon clinging to his armor rapidly from the magnetic lock. Marius now took the time to gather himself, and prepare. He scanned the crash site for supplies, recovering his lost MA5D and finding his discarded magnum in the palms of a dead reptile; it had apparently taken a curious liking to the foreign weapon, one which had resulted in three NATO rounds lodging themselves in its chest. He holstered the large handgun upon his hip once more, his assault rifle taking its place cozily beside the weapon he had coined as the "_ape-blaster_". With his weaponry now in check, he now had one more thing to deal with; Demeter.

The aliens had apparently tried to dislodge the shard of metal from the Spartan's chest, but they had little progress, having only wiggled the jagged steel a few inches out of the deceased super soldier's body. Marius placed his hands upon the steel, muttering a soft apology to his lost squadmate, before unceremoniously ripping the shard out his body with a single, solid yank. Demeter's corpse shuddered as the foreign object was removed, a spray of bright blood following it out. Marius frowned, tossing the shard into the underbrush, before picking up the limp soldier in his arms, moving towards the wreck of the pelican. Despite his wishes, he couldn't bury them, for he found the Pilot's body sprawled across his controls, blood seeping from a wound that was concealed by his helmet; the process would leave Marius too exposed, and cause too much noise. Instead, he place them both in a dignified position inside the intact troop bay of the dropship, giving them a single salute, before turning on heel and walking back out into the sunlight.

He glanced to the top of his HUD, the waypoint of his mission flashing. It read that the location of the signal jammer was forty kilometers due east. With a steady pace, Marius could reach it in little over an hour, provided he encountered no obstacles. He was just about to set off, before he heard something behind him, despite the fact that his motion tracker was not picking up any signs of movement. There was the outcry of a blaster, and a choked groan followed by a body slumping unto the ground behind him. Marius whirled around; bringing his magnum up in both hands, and saw something peculiar. On the ground below him was the reptile which had previously escaped his wrath, a combat knife in one of its scaly hands, and a hole burned through its armor and hide. His motion tracker finally highlighted something, a blip on the very edge of its range, and his raise his handgun to eye level.

Another creature was standing in the clearing now, a blur of azure and turquoise that slowly came to form as the Spartan settled into his stance. Compared to the ape and lizard creatures he had come in contact with, this one was vulpine in nature, its visage covered in a blue bodysuit. White fur was upon the front of its face, with a lighter blue making up the rest of the head, and below, the…Tail? Even amongst the odd appearances the Covenant laid claim to, a tail was not amongst their number. In its hands, a handgun-like blaster was firmly held, its muzzle now trained on him. The Spartan's magnum was in a similar state, the reticle on his visor lined directly up to the creature's skull, which he was beginning to assume was a she. Her eyes were firm, yet carried with them a touch of curiosity in their gaze.

Marius paused, assuming that speaking to the thing might as well be given a try, "Can you understand me?" He called out, his deep voice carrying the words clearly.

The vixen paused, her eyes widening, before she slowly nodded. She gave no response, which prompted Marius to open his mouth once more. "Are you with them?" He gestured to the corpse of the fallen reptilian before him. He had an assumption of what her answer would be, but he was curious.

When the azure vulpine shook its head no, Marius slowly began to lower his large handgun, and to his relief the vulpine did the same. He placed his M6H back upon his hip, but kept his hand close by. Not that he would have to; a Spartan's reaction time was astronomical, and he could more than likely have aimed and fired upon the alien by the time she had even begun to raise its now-holstered blaster. Finally, she spoke to him.

"What are you?"

It had been a simple mission, one which promised a fair amount of pay. The Star Fox team had been contacted three days prior by General Pepper, requesting their aid once more. The planet Fortuna, formerly used by Oikonny as a last-resort of sorts, which would later become the stage for the beginning of the Aparoid Invasion, had been claimed by a fleet of Venomians which had managed to pull itself in the years following the Invasion. They took advantage of the now desolate bunkers and instillations Oikonny had built within the planet's lush and thick jungles, providing the perfect base of operations for their cobbled-together movement. Though a majority of the fleet had been disposed of by the Cornerian Army in the initial push, the remainder of their forces had since retreated to a large area of particularly dense forests and mountain ranges. A device set in the epicenter of the fortified jungle was blocking any form of communication with the planet, and at the same time, prevented ships from operating properly when they were within the device's range.

Many ships had already attempted to brave through this, but at a deadly cost. Multiple A-A batteries were set up within the foliage, concealed in the floral growth, which punched through the shields and hulls of any spacecraft foolish enough to wander into their sights. A forward-operation base had been established by the Cornerians just beyond the blind-zone, which an abundance of troops ready to move in once communications were re-established once more.

The team was offered the task of moving into the jungle on foot, finding the source of the interference, and taking it out. Fox, after a lengthy round of discussion with the whole of the team and some personal consideration, accepted. It wasn't the ideal job, but they needed the credits. Two squads of Cornerians soldiers were provided to go into the brush with them, in order to complete their task. The first day went swimmingly, and they were virtually unseen as they steadily made their way towards their goal. However, once they had strayed too far beyond the borders of the FOB, the jungle was ignited in a hail of blaster-fire. The soldiers didn't last long; they were not in their element, unfamiliar with the terrain and even some of the foes they faced, and were cut down one by one in the crowded depths of the rainforest. The terrorists had been tracking the team for over day before finally, they lost the trail.

Knowing now that they were safe, for the moment, Fox ordered for everyone to stop, rest, and check ammunition. The two newer additions of the group, Miyu Lynx and Fay Spaniel, were standing beside a tree making idle conversation, with a particularly winded-looking Slippy sitting on a nearby rotted log, fumbling over a blaster which had received damage in one of the various skirmishes that had made up the whole of their previous evening. Falco had stationed himself at the edge of their small encampment, eyes peering impatiently into the sweltering depths of the wilderness, watching for movement as he hummed a tune under his breath. Krystal sat upon the ground beneath a particularly tall specimen of timber, her eyes closed as she entered of a state of tranquil meditation, gathering her thoughts and assessing the situation. Her supernatural abilities had proven useful in the absence of communication systems, and had easily saved their lives a handful of times in the past days. Peppy had decided to stay back at the FOB; he reasoned that his old age would only get in the way of the mission.

The azure vixen's eyes suddenly opened a look of astonishment upon her face. "We're not alone." She muttered to Fox, whose gaze sternly turned towards her. "Venomians?" He asked, already unholstering his blaster.

"No, I…Forgive me." She shook her head, motioning for him to put the weapon away with a sigh. "I just sensed two ships of unknown origin enter the planet's atmosphere. I can't tell who or what they belong too, but they've broken off from a larger fleet in orbit." Fox grimaced, not liking the sound of what he was hearing. The Venomians were already providing enough trouble in their fragmented state. Lylat was not ready for another threat.

"They just flew into the blind-zone…" Krystal said, frowning. There was a pause, before all movement in the camp froze as the roar of an Anti-Air turret sounded off in the distance, followed moments later by the ugly sound of something large and mechanical impacting the ground below. Fox and Krystal both looked at each other, wide-eyed, before the orange vulpine rose to his feet. "What was that?" Slippy asked, cradling the partially-repaired blaster in his arms.

"It might be a newly discovered resident of the galaxy, according the Krystal." Fox shut off the incoming wave of questions from both Slippy and Fay, whom had leaped to attention at that bellowing report of the cannon. He waved over Falco and hurriedly explained, "You, Slippy and Fay are staying here. Secure this area, and do not move unless absolutely necessary. I'm going to check out whatever the Venomians shot down, and hopefully find it before they do. Krystal and Miyu, on me." Fox quickly tread off in the direction of the noise, his two companions both behind him, blasters at the ready.

They had trekked through the messy brush for nearly twenty minutes, guided only by their memory and a distant trail of smoke which was mostly obscured by the canopy of the jungle. As they continued their march, Krystal soon began to develop an odd feeling, the same sensation she had felt when the two unknown craft had first entered the planet's atmosphere. She stopped in her tracks, splitting off from the group out of self-violation, and sprinted towards the source of her bizarre perception. As she got closer, she heard the sounds of blaster-bolts whirling through the air, quickly followed by a loud, rough, repeating noise, which reported in rapid succession of itself. She finally cleared an array of plants, before coming to a freezing halt at what she saw, mouth agape.

A large Venomian, a brutish-looking ape in a rough set of armor, had just engaged a giant being of deep-sage colored armor. Upon what looked like a helmet, a wide, deep golden visor reflected the scenario as it unfolded. The being was monstrously tall; dwarfing the ape in what she roughly estimated must have been eight feet in height. It was incredibly bulky as well, looking as though it could destroy a Landmaster with its bare hands. The ape knocked a weapon of sorts out of the giant's hands, before moving to slam its rifle into the creature's head. In a time that baffled the vixen, the alien ducked to the ground and shot it's balled fist upwards, connecting solidly with the Venomian's skull. A loud, hideous crack was heard, following by the ape being launched off its feet and landing on a bush a foot or two away.

He, for in Krystal's eyes it appeared to be male, grabbed the Venomian's rifle, inspecting it for a moment, before quickly maneuvering out from the blockade of trees the engagement had taken place behind, and into a distant clearing. A series of blaster-rounds was heard, each one followed by a groan or cry of pain. Slowly, she moved forward just in time to see a reptilian Venomian sprint in the wilderness, two bolts from the blaster following behind it. The massive foreigner paused, before placing the blaster upon his back, the rifle clinging to his armor from some kind of force. He turned on heel, and slowly began to pace amongst the clearing, retrieving what appeared to be his slung-away weapon and something else, a smaller device which looked similar to her own blaster, albeit bulkier.

Krystal took this time to take in the entirety of the scene; a large spacecraft was crashed within the clearing, its color a deep greyish-green, not uncommon to that of the tall soldier's own armor. Multiple bits and pieces of steel and metal were strewn about the place, as well as eight limp Venomian bodies. She then noticed that the giant being had inspected one of the shards, one which had impaled itself through something black. The sage being yanked the shard out with ease, tossing it aside, and a spray of what looked like blood coming from the black object. The vixen let out a gasp when she realized that this was another extraterrestrial, a deceased one. From what she could tell, it was covered in a different armor than the surviving one, deep ebony with a dark gold outline. It was shorter than the sage being, which held him easily in his arms. He carried the fallen one back to the interior of the crashed ship, and bustled about inside the craft for a handful of minutes, before finally emerging.

As the sage being began to walk away from the site, the Venomian re-appeared from the forest in a crouch. It quickly snuck its ways towards the large being, one of its glistening-green palms closed around a wicked looking dagger. Krystal snarled, rising out of the brush and raising her blaster, and after a moment of hesitation, let out a bolt.

Her aim was true, scoring the Venomian on its weakly armored back. With a groan, it dropped to the ground, all the while the being spun about and brought up his handgun in a rate of time that was mindboggling for something so large. He held his aim upon her, and she returned the gesture out of instinct, though neither of them fired. There was a moment of tense silence, before finally, the being spoke.

"Can you understand me?" He, for now it was proven to be a he, said in a deep, calm voice. Krystal blinked; whatever he was, he was fluent in Cornerian. Still shocked by this fact, she could only nod yes before he spoke once again.

"Are you with them?" He asked, gesturing to the limp body of the Venomian beneath him with a nod of his helmet. She shook her head no in response. His curiosity seemingly satiated, he slowly began to lower his handgun, and in response she did the same. Once they had both holstered their weapons, she gathered herself, before calling out to him, "What are you?"

He paused, not answering automatically. From what the vixen could sense emanating from his mind, the question brought forth conflicting answers. Finally, he came to the conclusion of, "I am a Spartan." She tilted her head, blinking. It was an odd name for certain, though it was the conflict over the answer which had prompted her curiosity. Krystal pressed on, "I see. Do you have a name?"

"Marius. My name is Marius." The Spartan, whom was known as Marius, replied.

"I like that. It sounds strong. My own name is Krystal." She raised a brow when a light nod was the only response she got out of him. With the odd formalities out of the way, she still had many questions. "How do you know our language?" Her tone was much sterner than before, her eyes narrowing. The Spartan grunted as he responded, "I was about to ask you the same thing."

Before she could respond, two beings came crashing through the underbrush; Fox and Miyu. They were clearly panicked by their teammate's sudden disappearance, which Fox was about to berate before his eyes locked on Marius. "Holy shit!" He yelped in surprise, whipping his firearm up.

Once more, the Spartan's speed in his reaction defied logic; by the time the orange vulpine had brought his weapon up, Marius had already reached for the rifle upon his back and had brought it to eye level, his finger firmly placed on the trigger, ready to fire at a moment's notice.

"Easy now, easy now!" Krystal said nervously, stepping in between the two males. Marius glared down at her, his visor's gaze demanding an explanation. Her hands still held in a state of reassurance, Krystal slowly stepped back. "They're friendly Marius. I work with them; Fox here is the leader of our team."

"Fox?" The Spartan asked skeptically, lowering his MA5D though he kept it cradled in his arms. The irony of creature's name was nearly too strong for Marius to bear; the stray thought he might have been dreaming within cryo-sleep crossed his mind. Fox nodded, hesitantly placing his blaster back in its holster, before stepping forward with an outstretched hand. "Fox McCloud. I take it you're not from around here?" He said with a small laugh, the attempt at humor being betrayed by how tense he was.

Marius paused, before slowly walking forward, giving the vulpine a solid shake. Retreating his arm to the comfort of his side, he slowly placed his assault rifle on his back again, content that he had apparently gained three new allies. However, he did not think they could replace the skill Demeter would have brought to the situation. He blinked, realizing he had yet to hear the name of the third individual, a lynx-like creature whom had been staring at him with wide eyes. He tilted his visor in her direction, prompting her to give him a small wave. "Miyu. M' name's Miyu."

Satisfied, Marius glanced back to Fox, whom was going over the crash site with sad and astonished eyes. "Your ship?" He asked, pointing towards the wreckage of the Pelican. Marius nodded, "It was. Two others were lost in the crash."

It shocked Krystal on how easily he had read off the deaths of his allies, seeming to treat it as though it were nothing. "I…I'm sorry." Fox managed to get out, to which Marius replied, "Don't be. They knew what they signed up for." Before they could respond, the Spartan quickly added in, "We should get moving. Whatever those things were, there will undoubtedly be others arriving shortly."

Fox nodded, gesturing for the sage-armored giant to follow. "We have a temporary camp set up a bit away from here. We can regroup, and get you acquainted with the others. By the way, those things, they're called Venomians."

Marius resigned himself to thinking over this new-found information as he followed the three through the floral growth of the wilderness, keeping pace with them despite his bulk to their surprise. From what he had learned, there were two distinct species, or clusters of species, living upon this world. One of them, the hostile contacts he had previously encountered an eliminated, were known as Venomians. The other, comprised so far of three individuals of feline and vulpine descent from what he had seen, were friendly for the moment and were at war with these Venomians.

Marius grumbled under his breath; this was strange, despite everything he had encountered in the known universe. He almost found himself missing the Covenant, compared to this bizarre hodge-podge of Earth-based animals. His train of thought was interrupted when Krystal suddenly asked, "What is the Covenant?"

Marius paused, slowly looking at her. In his eyes, that was it; they knew about the Covenant, they had to be part of the Fringe. Noticing his confusion, Fox chuckled at the massive soldier. "Krystal here has…Gifts." He began to explain awkwardly, trying his best to transfer the outlandish concept to the alien giant. "From what she has said, most of her kind did. She has very strong mental abilities; they're quite helpful in many scenarios."

"I'm not buying it." The Spartan bluntly said, returning to his walk once more. There were many different things in the universe, but psychics were where he refused to yield. The vixen smirked at him, taking advantage at his confusion, placing her hands on her hips as he said, "I couldn't get much, but I briefly managed to hinge out that you were always jealous of somebody named Jai, back in some sort of boot camp."

Marius froze, staring at her. It was true; during his training as a child to become a Spartan, he grew to harbor some ill feelings for Jai-006, whom would go on to become leader of Gray Team. There was no way anyone could have found that out; not even Halsey had heard him utter his contempt for his brother-in-arms.

"…Fine, I give. I'll believe you, for now. But stay out of my head." He sighed, resigning himself to his defeat. Chuckling, the Vixen pressed on, grunting as she nearly slipped on a damp piece of the forest floor. "Good, now answer the question: What is the Covenant?"

Marius inhaled deeply, and the Vixen could sense the ugly emotions that came with the words. Slowly, he said, "The Covenant was an alliance of zealously-religious alien species, one which deemed my kind to be unclean and heretics. They declared war upon us, slaughtering billions of our kind and destroying hundreds of our worlds in their genocidal campaign; the used a process called 'Glassing', where they would fire beams of concentrated plasma from their fleets of ships upon the surface of a planet, rendering it lifeless and uninhabitable for a time. They forced us all the way back to our home planet, before they collapsed into civil war. The Sangheili, or Elites as we called them, had made up the backbone of the Covenant's military. They allied with us at the end of the war, and helped us end the conflict. To this day, we're still fighting against splinter groups of them, ones who still cling to their false ideologies."

When the Spartan had finished, a deathly silence fell over the two Cornerians and their Cerinian companion. Fox had a look of shock in his eyes, glancing over at the super soldier from his current position. Miyu let out a hushed "…Damn." shaking her head in disgust. However, it seemed to have effected Krystal most of all; she stared at Marius with a look of horror in her eyes, the words seemingly stolen from her mouth. What could you say to that?

Fox broke the silence, "Just…Wow. I never thought the universe was such a…Hostile place. Lylat's had its fair share of bloodshed, both foreign and domestic, but nothing close to that."

"Atleast you won, right?" Miyu interjected with gusto, trying to lighten the Spartan up, who had been rather dull and dry in terms of enthusiasm from what the group had seen. Krystal gave her a disapproving glance, saying softly, "Yes, they won, but from what he has said, only in the barest sense of the word. So many must have fallen…"

"Our duty, as soldiers, is too protect Humanity, no matter the cost." Marius softly replied, his visor's radar picking up three contacts up ahead. Miyu called out in joy, "We're back!" causing the Spartan to sigh in relief. Good, they weren't hostiles. The lynx quickly ran forward, Fox close behind her. However, Krystal hanged back.

"Humanity?" She asked, curiously peering up at him. "My race, we are known as Humans." Marius bluntly said, trying his best to answer her questions. However, she furrowed her brow, frowning.

"You said you were a Spartan. Is a Spartan different from a Human?"

"…To this day, I still don't know."


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I apologize for the delay making this chapter: Life is a chaotic thing, and it has thrown me some definite curveballs as of late! However, by tomorrow, I shall have an extraordinary amount of spare time on my hands to write, so expect one or two, possibly even three, more chapters in the coming week. As well, I intended this chapter to be much longer, though I had to cut down due to size. Regardless, leave a review and enjoy!**

"Your armor is amazing! The design, the looks, everything; it even has personal shielding!"

Slippy exclaimed this at a rather irritated Marius, having been ogling over his equipment from a distance. He tilted his visor in the toad's direction, but said nothing. He noticed that close by, the white dog-like creature, a female by the name of Fay, had been staring at him as well, sharing Slippy's enthusiasm for the foreigner's garb.

Marius had only been with the whole of the team for little over an hour, and was already having thoughts of moving out on his own. Unlike him, the Cornerians did not share his nearly-ceaseless stamina, and from what he had learned had been stranded out in the wilderness with dwindling supplies, having been sent on a mission surprisingly similar to his own. To him, it was a complication to his mission; he didn't need rest, nor did he have any affiliation with this team what-so-ever. However, something in the back of his mind urged him to stay. He couldn't label what it was, but he merely accepted it. Besides, on a planet with which he had scrapped-together information on, having locals at your back was useful, to an extent.

Although his opinion of the three others had already been placed to tolerable in the barest sense of the word, they on the other hand had far different thoughts of him. Slippy was eager to get his hands on anything the Spartan would allow, or there-lack-of, with multiple attempts having already been made at his MA5D and magnum. Fay was curious of the technology as well, but even more-so was interested in the Spartan himself, asking a variety of questions about his past. A past which was filled with training, pain, warfare, and service. The rest had been washed away by indoctrination during his conscription.

"What is it like, where you come from?" She asked innocently. Neither Krystal, Fox, nor Miyu had decided to mention the horrible information Marius had shared with them.

Marius paused, trying his best to fabricate an answer. "It's…Different, very different. Humans come from all sorts of different backgrounds, but when it comes down to it, most of us our willing to put aside our differences to fight as one. Most of us, at least." The last sentence pulled a bitter string in his heart. It was something he remembered vividly; the Spartans had been made to decimate Human rebellion, not to fight a seemingly endless onslaught of horrific aliens. But the Covenant had just been the tip of the spear. There was still the Flood, the Forerunners, and more. Marius had been lucky enough not to encounter either of these two threats, but from the stories he had heard, it made the Covenant seem merciful in comparison.

"…You okay?" Krystal asked. Marius blinked, realizing he had zoned out in thought, his visor dipped to the ground. He looked back up, nodding to the azure vixen, before locking his gaze on a confused Fay. "The universe is a dangerous place. Be glad that you haven't been introduced to it, until now." With that cryptic remark, he rose to his feet. "I'm going to take watch." He said bluntly, taking his MA5D off of his back, the weapon feeling comfortable in his grasp. Not waiting for a response, the Spartan turned on heel and lumbered off towards an outcropping of rock a few yards away from the camp.

"…Talk about ominous." Falco smarmed, his narrowed eyes following the sage giant as he walked off. He had been rather cautious about their large companion, and surprisingly kept to himself while the Spartan was near. "I don't care if he's friendly or not, something about that guy just sets me off. He's like a walking, talking death-threat."

Fox frowned at his avian friend, crossing his arms. "From what he has told us, the place he comes from makes everything we've been through look like a cake-walk. I think he has his reasons for being unwelcoming." Still though, he hated to admit that a part of him sided with Falco. From what Krystal had described and from what he could judge from the Spartan, Marius was incredibly dangerous, and his motives weren't entirely clear to the team. To be honest, it was mostly out of circumstance that they had let the Spartan tag along with them.

There was a brief silence, before Falco spoke once more, acting as though Fox's statement had simply passed through one ear and out the other. "Y'know, I wonder what he looks like underneath that helmet. He doesn't seem to have a tail, or feathers." Miyu snorted, "Really now? Couldn't tell, seeing as though he's hidden under a mountain of green armor." Her sarcastic response electing a chuckle out of Fay. The avian rolled his eyes, "I'm just saying. Even if it's full-body, stuff like that usually has an opening for the tail, or something."

"Ever consider that he may not have a tail?" Slippy interjected. Falco shrugged, resigning himself, his point having been made.

"What do you think Krystal?" Fox asked nonchalantly, rummaging through a mostly-empty rucksack. Supplies were definitely becoming slim; they needed to get this mission done. When he got no response from her, he glanced over his shoulder. "Krys?" She had been staring out in the direction the super soldier had drudged off too, a glassy look in her eyes. Her concentration disturbed, she blinked, furrowing her brow.

"Hm? You say something Fox?" She asked, to which he promptly replied, "Yeah. Do you think Marius has a tail?" She tilted her head at the question, her stare alone asking as to why it was even asked. His only response was a shrug.

She paused, her silence being her answer, before rising to her feet. "I think I'm going to go talk to him." She finally said. As she walked off, she ending up letting out an irritated huff as Falco called out, "If he tries to kill you, just stand still! Really big things' visions are limited by movement!" The avian snickered at his own remark, though let out a prompt "What?" at the dry looks he received from the others.

Marius had not heard their nearby conversation, having blocked out the idle chatter. He had been busy trying his best to contact the _Glorybound_. It was a futile attempt, with the jammer still operational, but he had few options at the moment. For the third time in a row, he called out to his comms system, "UNSC _Glorybound_, this is Sierra-050, respond!" and for the third time in a row the response was the shrill laughter of blank static. He growled under his breath in frustration, before he slowly became silent at the sound of underbrush being stepped upon nearing him, coming from the camp. He glanced to his radar, and found that one blip, which had since been updated to a yellow color, marking it as an ally, was walking towards him.

"Mind if I join you?" A familiar voice called out. He glanced behind his broad shoulder, seeing Krystal. "Help yourself." With his unequivocal acceptance, she stepped forward, taking her place beside him. He crossed her arms, staring out at the large valley which stretched out below them. Unseen to her, in the distance upon Marius' HUD was marked the coordinates of the transmission jammer, blinking urgently on his overhead compass.

She paused, glancing up at him, before raising her arm up, placing a paw on one of his large shoulder-plates. He glanced down at her, his visor filled with a curious stare as she said, "I'm sorry." It looked like something out of a children's book, how small she appeared compared to the nearly eight foot tall behemoth of unflinching muscle and steel. She pressed on, adding, "…For everything, I mean. I can tell this is weighing heavily upon you; I can sense the conflicting thoughts rampaging through your head. You'll have to forgive the others, it's just...We've never encountered anything like you before, really."

Marius paused, "You've never met another sentient race before?" She chuckled quickly, shaking her head. "Oh no, we have, believe me. It's just that we've never had the pleasure of meeting one which didn't try to kill us moments later." To Krystal's surprise, Marius actually returned the laugh, "I know that feeling."

She smiled up at him, before returning her eyes to the unfolding reaches of the rainforest basin. "It's ironic," She said softly, "this planet is actually the same place where we encountered said intelligent life: The Aparoids." Marius held his gaze upon her, his voice conveying his ignorance on the subject. "Aparoids?" He simply prompted her, to which she replied, "They were a race of insect-like creatures, half-organic and half-machine. They could assimilate biological lifeforms into others of their kind, and were all linked together to a single mind, their Queen. To our current knowledge, they're extinct; after we killed the Queen, all surviving Aparoids died off, and their planet collapsed upon itself. They had claimed many lives throughout the system before we could reach their homeworld, however."

Marius frowned beneath his helmet, processing this. Something in the back of his mind eerily pushed him to connect these creatures to the Forerunners. Perhaps they had been some sort of attempt to sterilize the Flood, and survived the firing of the Halo array. It relieved him to know that they were wiped out; Humanity already had its fair share of problems and in the Spartan's opinion did not need anymore. Something she said finally struck him.

"System? There are more inhabitable worlds nearby?"

Krystal nodded, "Of course. It's called the Lylat System. The most heavily-populated planet, as well as the source of government within our little corner of the galaxy, is a planet named Corneria. We're currently upon a planet known as Fortuna." "I see, and I'm guessing you're native to Corneria as well?"

The vixen's previously cheerful disposition visibly soured, the smile upon her muzzle turning into a frown. She shook her head, slowly responding, "…I'm not native to Lylat. I'm a Cerinian; we inhabited the world of Cerinia, which was positioned just beyond the boundaries of the system. It…No longer exists, having been destroyed by unknown forces many years ago. Initially I searched tirelessly for answers, but after meeting Fox and joining the Team, I slowly began to lose interest. From what I understand, I'm one of a handful of surviving Cerinians." Her voice trailed off after this, and she seemed to close in on herself, adopting the distant attitude Marius had previously shown towards them. The Spartan himself was troubled both by what Krystal said, but by his own thoughts. He had seen world after world fall. Even Reach, the planet he had been born upon and later made into one of Humanity's guardians, had been wiped out by a massive Covenant fleet, commanded by none other than Thel Vadam; the Arbiter. But he felt particularly sorrowful over her predicament.

Why _did_ he feel sorrowful over her predicament?

Unable to answer his own question, the Spartan grumbled under his breath as he placed his MA5D upon his back, lightly nudging her on the shoulder. She hesitantly turned her head, and he noticed that the blue fur around her eyes had become stained and slightly damp. Reaching deep within him, the Spartan managed to find that strange core of kindness he somehow kept despite a lifetime of violence, one which he rarely allowed to be shown in public.

"We've both lost much, but all we can do is push on. You may have saved me from harm, so tell you what; if we make it out of here alive, I'll gladly help you find whatever destroyed your planet." He was bending the truth a good bit; truth be told, even if she hadn't of shot the Venomian which had attempted to sneak up on him, and nearly succeeded, the worst he could have done was more than likely make a dent in the Spartan's shielding.

It seemed as though his gambit had paid off, for she slowly smiled, nodding to him. "Okay…Yes, I think I'd like that. Thank you." She wiped her eyes for a moment, her mood slowly turning back to normal. Satisfied, Marius gestured towards the valley below them with a nod of his helmet. "For now, however, I believe we both have a mission to complete." She grinned, before turning to walk back to the camp, waving for him to follow with a quick "You're right! Come; let's see if the others are ready to move out."

It had taken them nearly two hours to reach the outskirts of their objective, much to Marius' displeasure. The group had made surprisingly good pace, but still needed the occasional moment to rest and regain energy. As well, the forest proved difficult to maneuver through, with its nearly-choking blockade of trees and ravines having halted them on numerous occasions. Marius crouched behind a particularly large fallen log, the rotting wood hiding his form surprisingly well. Falco and Fox had been positioned beside him, with Krystal and Slippy taking their place at a group of bushes, Miyu and Fay close behind. The Spartan peered over the edge of the wood, his visor highlighting the distant outlines of targets upon the base. The complex was a dilapidated and crumbling thing, built into the side of a hill-face, multiple sections of its thick steel barriers having holes blown into them, exposing the inner-workings of the base. Much of the damage caused to the structure had been curtesy of the Aparoids during their initial invasion, when they wiped out most if not all of Oikonny's surviving militia.

The base was on high alert, Venomians positioned tensely throughout the upper sections and rafters, blasters at the ready. Nearby, the sounds of a firefight were underway, with the shrill screaming of blaster fire being accompanied by the echoing din of ballistics weaponry. Marius smiled to himself; the surviving members of Harbinger had managed to make it to the target.

"Right…Everyone ready?" Fox said slowly. The group's assembled response was an array of silent nods.

"Okay then, on three. One. Two. Three. Move!"

_**Hours earlier…**_

The entire plan had gone haywire the moment they had gotten on the planet. It had taken everything in Ellison and Kaufman's power to prevent Vali from leaping out of the Pelican's bay door when they saw the dropship behind them get struck by an incredibly bright-and-quick mass of energy, causing it to spin out of control and plummet into the forest beneath them. Vali slung her arm back, hurling Major Ellison off of her, whom had been attempting to restrain her, despite the fact she had more than enough strength to break him like a twig. The ODST grunted as he slammed into the door leading to the cockpit, prompting the pilot, a woman with a surprisingly gruff voice, to shout out, "_Whatever the hell is going on out there, settle it before I turn this thing around!_" The loss of the other Pelican, and more than likely its own pilot, had not affected her much; she had seen multiple dropships get shot down throughout her service in the war. This was a walk in the park compared to most missions she had underwent.

Kaufman slowly stepped forward, raising his hands up calmly. "C'mon now, cool it girl. We're not the enemy." He said to her sternly, his eyes narrow. Vali shook her head, tilting her visor back to the still-open bay door. In the quickly-fleeting distance, a small sliver of black smoke could barely be seen for a second, but it had passed them by due to distance the moment they saw it.

"Something's wrong," She said quickly, "I can feel it. He's not alright, something's wrong!" Ellison groaned, moving to stand beside Vali, crossing his arms as he muttered something about being bruised. "Hey, look at me." He said to her, prompting the Spartan to look down at the helljumper.

"I know you're having one of those…Flip-out episodes you always get when he's hurt, and vice-versa for him when you're hurt, and truth be told you two are almost always right on that. But Demeter and Marius are Spartans, just like you; you know they could take a tank round to the head and walk away like it was nothing." She gave an uneasy laugh at the sarcastic quip he gave for his last statement, before nodding with a sigh. "You're right, just-"

"Problem solved then!" Kaufman jumped in, "They'll just rendezvous with us at the target. A little bit of jungle ain't gonna stop 'em." He had to get her mind off of it, or at least calm her down about it. To his relief, she nodded and sat back down, though her visor was still locked at the ever-passing by rainforest below.

Once they were ground-side, Kaufman took point, with Vali and Ellison watching their right and left flanks respectively. Kaufman snarled and muttered a string of curses as one of his boots was caught in a mess of low-hanging vines, "Damnit, I hate places like this! It's like everything in them wants to snatch you up." Ellison quickly chimed in, "You know, on some planets, the plants do actually try to snatch you up." "Y' ain't helping me out much, Mark." The ODST chuckled briefly at this.

They continued on their way without pause, the only obstacles they encountered for over an hour being the steep and treacherous terrain they were faced with. As it soon turned out, command had picked a poor LZ to drop them off at, as their previously-thought straight-forward path to the target was found to be blocked by a wide range of ravines, forcing them to trek near the edges of the steep drop-offs and find a way past them, eventually coming across a metallic bridge-like structure, and with it, an incredibly worn-out and poorly-built road.

"I don't think we should use this." Major Mark warned, his DMR clutched in his hands, "There may be natives still using this, possibly even patrols. We need to preserve the element of surprise." Kaufman grunted, "I think we lost that element when our buddies were blown out of the sky." The S-I cast a brief glance at Vali, whom did not seem to react; he came to the conclusion that she had not heard them.

"Vali!" He called out to her, causing her to tilt her visor in their direction. "What do you say, huh? Road or soggy-ass jungle?" She paused, before nodding to the road, "As it stands, I reason we could get out of the way before any trouble stumbles across us, yeah?" She shrugged, turning on heel, waiting for Kaufman to take point once more. An irritated Ellison begrudging followed behind, muttering at them both, "I sometimes question why I'm in this squad…"

They trudged on the ancient-looking dirt-and-mud road for a long while, their boots churning up soil which had not been disturbed for years. Ellison and Kaufman were beginning to show signs of fatigue, but Spartan Akos did not share this notion with them. Her augmentations made her as fast and tireless as a horse. They were beginning to near the target, this was certain, as their visors and most noticeably, their radars, were beginning to show a repeating pattern of interference, always going out in a procedural wave with a space of around thirty seconds between it.

Finally, Kaufman raised his hand, motioning for them to halt. Slowly, he gestured for them to move to the cover of the forest, towards their left specifically. After doing so, Kaufman crouched behind some loose underbrush, taking his anti-material rifle off of his back, and after a moment of getting a feel for the familiar weapon, smoothly brought the sights up. "Got movement?" Ellison asked, his response being a small nod and a blunt "A'yup."

Through the sights of his rifle, James took quick note of the scenario; it was a checkpoint of sorts, made of a substance similar in appearance to concrete, with evident signs of extreme wear and disrepair visible upon it. A metal gate was hung raggedly off of one hinge on the left side of the barrier, its surface marred with rust. He counted six contacts of seemingly humanoid appearance, though the finer details of their form were obscured by distance. Two were positioned past the outer edges of the barricade, near the forest. Two were currently sitting against the left block of the checkpoint, and appeared to be bickering with one another over something. One was stationed on the right, absent-mindedly peering at his weapon, a rifle-like device, and the last individual had his back turned to the group, appearing to be watching the rear. They all appeared far too relaxed to be competent soldiers.

His survey complete, Kaufman lowered his sniper with a grunt, turning to his two squadmates. "Right, here's the compressed version of our situation; we got six guys," he took a small stick nearby, drawing a tiny diagram in the damp mud of the rainforest floor, "with two of 'em stationed here, and here. A pair seems to be pre-occupied with each other here, but for all I know they might be swappin' spit. One contact here and the last one is at the rear. We may have to use this route as a quick way out of the facility; we need it under control. I want you two to move ahead, and take them out. I'll hang back and provide you with support, if needed. _Try_ to go nonlethal on this. We don't know if they're definitely hostile, only that they're blocking our way. If deadly force is the only option, then light 'em up. All clear?"

Truth be told, Kaufman felt awkward giving out a plan of action. During their operations, Marius-050 had acted as their commander, but sadly they did not have the luxury of the S-II. After a brief pause for thought, Vali and Ellison nodded their approval.

Vali stayed on the left side, while Ellison circled back and took the right. Slowly, they advanced forward, careful not to draw the attention of the checkpoint's inhabitants. Not that it would matter; once they had reached close proximity of the site, the two found that the six contacts were far too caught up in their own individual machinations to actually be catch sight of them.

Vali had been marked to initiate the operation, and through the sights of his SRS 99, Kaufman watched the scene unfold. Vali and Ellison lunged for the far-out sentries on their respective sides, silently dragging them into the bush, their grasps preventing any form of breathing. After a surprisingly tense amount of moments, the two emerged from their sides, lacking their former victims and in a crouch, and slowly began to advance. Ellison encountered no problems on his side; slinging his DMR off of his back, the ODST quickly slammed the butt of the rifle into the unprotected skull of the alien, causing it to collapse unto the floor with a distant thud.

This is where everything began to unravel; the resounding _THWOK! _That came from Ellison's second target as his weapon was clubbed into its head, followed by its less-than-graceful fall, generated a disturbance amongst the outpost. The two squabbling contacts halted their hostile debate for a moment, glancing about the place, their eyes somehow not picking up the crouched super-soldier that was lying prone nearby. One of the two glanced across the ODST's black form and with a cry, unholstered a pistol-like weapon and fired at him.

A bolt of bright-blue energy slung itself from the weapon, and although the round had been quickly and ungainly fired, it somehow found scored a grazing mark upon Ellison's right arm, scorching the metal and causing him to reel back with a cry. Vali quickly sprang into action, leaping to her feet and taking her MA5D off of her back; there was no sense in wasting the railgun's munitions. She snapped her reticle unto the back of one of the creatures, and fired. The assault rifle spit forth a deadly hail of gunfire, drawing the attention of the remaining three individuals. The volley of bullets slammed accurately upon one of the previously-arguing two, causing him to drop to the ground with a body riddled with holes, his armor providing little protection against the rounds. The second of the two managed to quickly back-peddle towards the gate of the checkpoint, hoping to take cover as he fumbled for his own weapon, but screeched as a round managed to nick his leg.

Unfortunately, he did not take account of Ellison, whom had now regained his composition. He raised his DMR at the now-exposed contact, and fired two accurate rounds, both of them slamming dead into his chest. He gave a choked gurgle, before falling limp. Both the Spartan and the ODST looked for the finale contact, before spotting it attempting to flee from them, sprinting as quickly as it could from devastated checkpoint. He wouldn't make it far, however; a distant and loud report echoed in the air, followed momentarily by the fleeing contact's head popping open in a spectacular display of gore.

With the outpost all clear, Kaufman stood and slung his sniper upon his back, before beginning to double-time it towards his squad. Upon making it, he immediately turned his attention to Ellison, who was peeling off the bracer which had been scored by the creature's weapon. They both winced at what they saw; though the plate had managed to protect the skin, the heat of the blast had still seared through, making Ellison's forearm painfully resemble a minor plasma-wound. With clenched teeth and a muttered curse, he slowly began to reapply the armor, cursing at their current lack of biofoam. "I'll be fine," He said to them, trying his best to shrug off the injury, "We'll treat it once we're back onboard the G_lorybound_. I'm still operational."

With Ellison checked upon, Kaufman decided to take a peek at their half-deceased and half-unconscious foes. He found that most of them consisted of ape-like humanoids, presumably covered head to toe in a coat of fur which he observed to be anywhere from brown to black. There were two reptilian-like creatures amongst their number, one of them possessing a bright lime-green coat of scales, the other having a dark ebony pattern.

"It kind of looks like a Brute." Vali pointed out, gesturing to the ape that had shot at Ellison. The ODST barked a quick laugh, "Pft, these guys are like tooth-picks compared to Delta-Kilos. Still, they do have the whole monkey thing going on."

There was a long period of silence, before Kaufman finally spoke up, "We should get moving." He said, nodding his head to the road, "Whatever they are, their buddies will probably notice that they're silent. Might send a patrol out here. 'Sides, we only got a half hour or so of distance left between us and the objective. Let's get moving!"

_**In the present…**_

The Venomian complex was a deceptive thing, much like its creators. Though it resembled a normal stronghold, underneath the ground, the true base came to light. It was a massive, hidden hangar, with an entire fleet of warships kept hidden beneath bulkheads and monolithic gates concealed under dirt and foliage. Oikonny had designed been building a new fleet within this hidden masterpiece, planning to surprise the Cornerians after his apparent defeat. However, the Aparoid invasion had rudely interrupted his plans, leaving most of his projects unfinished and half-complete.

That was when Sev Ira came in. He was a massive Venomian, standing at nearly eight feet tall, his reptilian form covered in a leathery skin instead of the normal scales, said skin being a dirty-brown. His eyes were piercing grey in color, and his head and neck were rather large, giving him an almost hunch-like characteristic. He was thickly built, his visage rippling with muscle, contained barely by an array of heavy plate and leather straps. His long tail lazily dragged across the metal floors as he walked along them.

There were some rumors this man was a Venomian-Saurian half-breed, given his monstrous proportions, but those whom had spread such gossip had been executed by Sev himself. The Venomian was ancient, having served under both Andross and Oikonny, and was permanently bitter from his Emperors' defeats. He had hid himself from the Cornerians, having survived the Aparoid invasion. After the dust had settled, Sev began to slowly collect those Venomians whom were still loyal to the ways of their old Emperors, and killed any who dare speak out against them, having them all coalesce upon Fortuna. There, they began to work on Oikonny's unfinished fleet once more, with a small blockade of ships being formed of the stray vessels they had gathered during the militia's formation.

Sev crossed his arms as he admired what was the spearhead of Oikonny's machinations: A superweapon of a ship. It was nearly a mile long, taking an entire section of the base to hold it, with the middle of its bulbous form covered with a massive disk-like object. The bow of the vessel was split in two, with multiple rings connecting it, making it resemble a mass-driver of sorts. Oikonny's designs said that the beam this ship could fire would permanently disable any ship it touched, leaving it powerless and vulnerable.

And it was nearly complete.

Sev's prideful thoughts were interrupted as a scrawny ape scampered forth, dropping to a knee when he approached the great lizard. "Sir!" He called out, "Reports indicate the base is being assaulted from north and the west by two separate teams, ten soldiers in total. Four of them are of unknown origin, and it's being said that the Starfox team is supporting them!"

The ape flinched as Sev let out a low, thunderous hiss at the mention of the mercenaries. He had made it one of his top goals to see Fox McCloud wiped from the face of the universe, seeing the chief role he had played within the fall of Andross. However, these four new creatures interested him; he came to the conclusion that they must belong to the unidentified fleet that had recently been found in orbit of the planet. He wondered if they were like the large soldier they had found at the foreigners' crashed dropship, a large creature clad in black and gold armor. He had the body in his custody, and intended for his scientists to study it soon enough.

Finally, the great lizard folded his arms behind his back, "It is no matter." He slowly replied, his voice low and clear, "The flagship is nearly complete, and the rest of the fleet is ready to launch at a moment's notice. The Cornerians have let their guard down; having grown relaxed in their assumed victory."

"But, sir, what of the seven unidentified ships in orbit?"

Sev allowed his long muzzle to break into a malicious smile, exposing a maw of ugly, fierce and stained incisors. "We shall crush them, as a testament of our new power: All shall bow before the might of Venom, reborn!"


End file.
